[lit-ideas] Pink Samurai -- Was: Geisha
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 13:32:48 EDT
McCreery provides a reference:
For details see Ian Buruma, _Pink Samurai_.
--- I see the subtitle is: "LOVE, MARRIAGE AND SEX IN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN". I
thought 'pink' brought an element of 'homosexuality', but it must have a
different connotation in Japan. The author according to Amazon.com is
"Nicholas
Bornoff". I append below the editorial review and one customer review.
Looks like an interesting read.
Cheers,
JL
This graphic treatment of the evolution of the mizu shobai -- that much
talked-about world of sexual freedom that exists in Japan -- follows the
"foreigner investigates" style of writing.
Giving less space to love and marriage than to sex in its many guises,
Bornoff seeks to guide the reader from a series of tatemae (if it looks good
it is
good) vignettes to the honne (real) sexual soul of the Japanese people.
Although most of the modern references to the goings-on in Tokyo and
elsewhere ring true, the inclusion of an analytical summary after 470+ pages
of
description seems like an afterthought and leaves one wondering if the writer
was
more interested in titillating storytelling than in highlighting the
maturity of the Japanese.
The book redeems itself somewhat in pointing out truly destructive trends
that show the currents of change in Japanese popular culture.
Mr Bornoff has apparently done a lot of research for this book, although no
bibliography is given to take the interested user to a level beyond his
colloquial interviews.
To be honest, there were several places where a lack of more scholarship was
not only disappointing but misleading.
In several instances the etymology of Japanese words was mistaken (although
the author used the same answers you might get from an average Japanese).
[I hope he got the etymology of 'gei' 'sha', artiste, right]
Typograhical errors also abound, making it a distracting read.
The book is also insulting in that the author's opinion's on several
subjects, from prostitution to homosexuality, form a thick veil which prevents
him
from presenting more objective data.
Also, to devote a scant few pages to the topic of homosexuality (while
peppering those pages with his own revulsed bias) was a major disservice.
Nearly anyone writing in 1988 could have found much more on the subject.
As others have noted, the book is dated. Japan has changed greatly in the
intervening years, and the book is best viewed as a snaphot of attitudes
(barely
facts) of 1988.
On the positive note, the author does go into greater detail on historical
content than similar books to date.
A readable trip to different areas of Japanese history and society. Examines
impact of social upheavals on the status of women. Considers contemporary
and historical issues -- from geisha to "compensated dating").
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